Karen Elson

Karen Elson

As it turns out, British-born model Karen Elson was an easy mark for a little Southern charm. Passing through Nashville on a road trip seven years ago with then husband Jack White, the two decided the Athens of the South was the perfect place to call home (or one of them, at least). Today, the former face of Chanel, muse to Karl Lagerfeld, and all-around runway mainstay, has slowed down enough to make the city her full-time residence, where she lives with her children, Scarlett, seven, and Henry Lee, six. "There’s a real sense of relaxation I have here that no other place can give me," Elson says. "I’m not late for something. I don’t have to be somewhere." The fiery-haired beauty, a singer-songwriter and guitarist who released the ethereal country-rock album The Ghost Who Walks in 2010, is a Music City fixture—recording at Third Man Records (White’s studio), playing occasional gigs around the city, and collaborating with T Bone Burnett–produced Alabama duo the Secret Sisters. She’s taking advantage of all that Nashville’s up-and-coming cultural scene and established standbys have to offer. "You’re surrounded by so many talented people, but there’s a real emergence of artists and filmmakers, fashion designers, and photographers [here]," observes Elson. "There are so many people I have played with or want to play with—I will not pause for breath."

Southern Comfort

Southern Comfort

Stay: When friends visit, she sends them to the Hutton, a modern, eco-friendly boutique hotel in the heart of downtown. For those who want to pamper themselves, Elson suggests the historic (and Oprah-approved) Hermitage Hotel.

Pictured: Al Capone, Bette Davis, and six different American presidents have checked into the plush accommodations at the Hermitage Hotel.